Direction finding system



Nov. 29, 1949 c. FlNzER DIRECTION FINDING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 4, 1944 INVENTOR CARL F/NZE/Q ATTO Patented Nov. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIRECTION FINDING SYSTEM Carl Fnzer, Summit, N. J., assigner to Federal Y Telephone and Radio Corporation, New York, ,Y ,Y i

N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 4, 1944, Serial No. 548,031

6 Claims.

This invention relates to bearing indication systems, and more particularly to a system which permits an almost instantaneous unidirectional bearing indication with a minimum of in terferences Whether it be caused by quadrature induction, high frequency modulation or any change in receiver characteristics.

The object of this invention is a bearing indication system comprising directional and nondirectional antennae. The directional antenna is rotated at a predetermined speed. The outputs of the two antennas in response to a signal. say of an unknown high frequency source, are combined, if necessary, after amplification and phase shifting. Thus, a resultant voltage is produced which has a modulation component of a frequency corresponding to the number of revolutions of the directional antenna and a phase depending upon the direction of the signal. This resultant, after suitable ltering, further detection and additional amplification, is rectified and applied to modulate the constant frequency voltage source in a measuring circuit such as the field circuit of a cathode ray tube which is controlled by a circle generator. Such a neld cir cuit is used to effect the rotation of a cathode ray synchronously With the rotation of the directional antenna.

The resultant deviation from the circular pattern produced by the cathode ray on a uorescent screen may be used as an immediate indication of direction.

The phase difference of the resultant voltage may also be used to measure the angle of direction With the aid of any other phase-indicating or comparing instrument or circuit, Without exceeding the scope of the invention.

More specically, the means used for rotating a loop or goniometer in synchronism with a circle generator for a cathode ray tube may consist either of deflection coils rotating about the cathode ray tube or of a two-phase generator which is connected to the plates of the tube.

The output of the rotating loop or gonioinet-eiis shifted 90 in phase in order to bring it in phase with a voltage from a non-directional sense antenna. The two voltages are then combined, the resultant voltage having a modulation cornponent Whose frequency is equal to the number of Arevolutions per second made by the goniometer or loop. The phase of the modulation component presentin the resultant will depend upon the angle of arrival of the received signal.

The resultant voltage is ampliiied in the conventional manner and rectied, preferably at the second detector, thus producing an audio output which reproduces both the modulations which were imposed upon the signal at the transmitter and the modulations which are due to the rotating loop or goniometer. If the goniometer or loop is rotated at such a speed as to produce a low frequency modulation, the major portion of the program modulation may be removed by means of a 10W pass lter. The ller audio voltage is now rectiiied full wave and fed into a D. C. amplifier. The output of the D. C. amplifier either modulates the circle generator or is fed into the deflection coils which rotate about the cathode ray indicator. A iigure-B pattern whose angular displacement is proportional to the angle of arrival of the signal induced in the loop or goniometer coil system is produced on the screen of the cathode ray tube. The sharpness of the pattern is a function of the ratio maximum: minimum of the rectified audio voltage.

In order to obtain a purely unidirectional pattern, a portion of the audio voltage is taken off at the output of the low pass lter and shifted in phase or order to bring one of the peaks in such a position as to block the reciprocal null. This may be done by passing the voltage through a half-Wave rectifier and using the output to trigger-off the plate current of the cathode ray tube.

The principal advantages of the invention are as follows:

1. Bearing indication is instantaneous;

2. Bearing indication is unidirectional;

3. Quadrature voltages induced into the loop lhave a minimum of effect upon the sharpness of the pattern;

4. High frequency modulations are removed from the pattern;

5. The bearing does not shift with changes -in receiver selectivity; and

cathode ray oscilloscope having electrostatic del tlection elements;

Fig. 2 illustrates a cathode ray pattern such as may be produced by a cathode ray tube used in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates a unidirectional type pattern v phase-shifting circuit to B+. A second primary:

winding of transformer l is connected to nondirectional antenna ll.

VYThe secondary winding of transformer 1, in shunt with a suitable Vtuning condenser l, carries the combined voltages in `.their proper phase The equation of the output of a loop rotating in an electric field can be written as (1) e=E cos wt sin ut where e is the instantaneous amplitude.

E is the maximum amplitude of the induced voltage.

o is 21r vtimes fthe frequency of the induced voltage.

w1 is 21r times the frequency of rotation of the loop.

-If the movement of the rotating spot producing the circle on the screen of the cathode ray 'tube, and the loop are synchronized, Equation 1 relationship, and the resulting voltage is fed into the input circuit of receiverll. Phase-shifting circuit li may be removed. The resultant voltage would then be frequency-modulated linstead of amplitude-modulated.

In order to obtain an elongated l-shaped cathode ray pattern, as 4illustrated in 'Fig'. .entending in the unknown direction of the signal received, the output vof receiver ll is applied, through condenser lll to coupling or `matching tube l5 and from there to the input of a'low pass filter lil. Low pass filter E6 is arranged and designed to suppress the program modulations of a high frequency signal received and to pass only the frequency modulation corresponding to the rotationiof antenna loop l.

The output of'lter l5 is fed through transformer il to full-wave rectifier l; the rectifier output is amplified in a D. C. amplifier consisting of pentode i9.' The anode circuit of'pentode IS supplies the two deflectioncoils ofcath'ode ray tube or radio goniometer 2l. 'Coils 2i? are rotated (as indicated by the dotted line connection) by motor 22 at a speed synchronous with that of antenna loop i the result is a circular pattern on screen '23 of tube '2 l.

Instead of controlling the electrcnic'beam of a cathode ray tube electromagnetically, electro-A static control may be provided byusing deflection plates ina .cathode ray tube', assho'wn in Fig. la. Theoutput of a two phase frequency generator 32 and the output of pentode'lare simultaneously fed through coupling circuits "lila and Mb to the respective plates of thecathode ray tube. This method of 'modulating the receiver output with a sine and cosine voltage and for applying the modulated outputs to separate sets of deection plates of a cathode'ray tube is'v well known.

.'In order to derive a purely uni-directional pattern such as is shown in Fig. 3 a portion of the output of filter l5 is fed through condenser 263 to a phase-shifting tube 25. The output of this tube, after having passed phase-shifting network is applied to a nali-Wave rectier'l and, after anipliication in trigger tube 23, it is applied to the gridl of cathode ray tube 2| to trigger-Gif its plate current at the appropriate moments. in adjustable resistance 2li serves to regulate this trigger effect.

The following considerations.mayhelp to explain some of the eifects of theinvention.

Since it can be shown that the output of arotating goniometer search coil is thesame as the output of a rotating loop, it. shall be understood that the term rotating loop also covers the rotating goniometer.

can be rewritten as (2) e=E cos wt sin(w1t+0) Where 0 is the angular relation between the angle of arrival -of the induced voltage in the loop and an arbitrary point on the circle traced on the cathodev ray tube.

The R. F. outputfvoltage ofthe loop` isshifted 90 in phase in orderto bring it in-'phase'withithe sense voltage and the'two voltages are combined f= as shown in Fig. '1. The equationl of the resultant voltage can be writtenas 3) @FE sin trein (m4-0) +r; sin wr where E1 is the maximum amplitudeof the voltage induced in the sense antenna. E1 sin wtis the output of the sense antenna.

If E and E1 are made equalfEquation` Scan-be rewritten as It can be shown that Equation 4 represents a carrier having a maximum instantaneous valueo'f `AE2, a frequency of a modulation frequency of and the modulationfactor of ljby substituting the values of Equation 4 into Equation 5 which is the general equation of a carrier .with a simple sinusoidal modulation.

(5) e=Eo(1-l-m sin 21rfmt) sin 21rft where E0 represents the'maximuminstantaneous amplitude of the carrier m the modulation factor fm the modulating frequency f the carrier frequency.

The resulta-nt voltage is amplified and detected .2in the conventional manner. The A. C. component of the output voltage of the second ldetector can be written as (6) ed=Ed sin (wit-H9) fl-where Ed is the maximum amplitude of thc"- means of a full-wave rectifier (seeFi'g. 3) The- -output of the rectifier is` fed tothe grid of aDJC.

amplifier which modulatesv the circle on the cathode ray tube in such a manner as to drivethe -sp'ot to the center of the tube on the peaksofthe rectiier output. The pattern produced on the tube .55.75.1fs shown in Fig. 2.

From Equation 2 it can be seen that the angular displacement of the pattern will be a function of the angle of arrival of the voltage induced in the loop.

The definition or the sharpness of the pattern can be expressed as a function of the ratio of is eliminated by shifting the voltage at the output of the low pass lter 90 in phase and passing it through a half-wave rectifier. The output of the rectifier is used to drive the cathode ray tube to cut-oi during the undesired half of the pattern (Fig. 2), producing a unidirectional bearing indication as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to eliminate errors due to phase shift in the loW pass filter, the speed of rotation of the loop must be held constant.

The bearing will not shift with changes in the selectivity of the receiver.

What is claimed is:

l. In a combination receiving means including directional and non-directional antenna systems both arranged to receive a signal simultaneously from an unknown direction and each arranged to provide a voltage corresponding to said signal, a cathode ray tube including control electrodes and cathode ray deflecting means for rotating said directional antenna system, means for controlling said deecting means for deiiecting said cathode ray synchronously with said rotation, means for providing a phase shift between said voltages, means for combining said voltages after said phase shift, filter means, means for passing said combined voltages through said lter means for obtaining the modulation components corresponding to the rotation of said di rectional antenna system, means for providing two separate outputs of said modulation components, a full wave rectifier, means for applying one of said outputs through said full Wave rectier to said deflecting means, means for providing a phase shift of said other output, a half Wave rectifier, means for applying said other output after said phase shift through said half Wave rectier and provide a rectiiied output wave and means for applying said latter rectified output Wave to said control electrodes of said cathode ray tube.

2. Arrangement as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first phase shift comprises 90 and said second phase shift is of a value to eliminate sense ambiguity of the resultant reception pattern.

3. A combination according to claim 1, in which said delecting means include electrostatic deecting means and a two-phase oscillator controlling electrostaticallyV the cathode ray.

4. A combination according to claim 1, in which said defiecting means include coils rotating to control electromagnetically the cathode ray.

5. A combination according to claim 1, comprising means for shifting the phase of at least one of said voltages to be in phase with the other.

6. A combination according to claim 1, in which the number of revolutions of the directional antenna system' is such as to produce a frequency modulation having a major part below the frequency modulation range of the signal.

CARL FINZER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,183,746 Hyland Dec. 19, 1939 2,263,377 Busignies et al. Nov. 18, 1941 2,295,412 Little Sept. 8, 1942 2,388,262 Ganiayre Nov. 6, 1945 2,403,967 Busignies July 16, 1946 2,406,406 Sandretto Aug. 27, 1946 2,406,800 Busignies Sept. 3, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 468,918 Great Britain July 15, 1937 

